What if Walt Disney had produced the Looney Tunes franchise?/Walt Disney Animated Classics/Zootopia
Zootopia is a 2016 American 3D computer-animated buddy cop action comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 104th Disney animated feature film. It was directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore, co-directed by Jared Bush, and stars the voices of Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Jenny Slate, Nate Torrence, Bonnie Hunt, Don Lake, Tommy Chong, J. K. Simmons, Octavia Spencer, Alan Tudyk, and Shakira. It details the unlikely partnership between a rabbit police officer and a red fox con artist, as they uncover a conspiracy involving the disappearance of savage predator inhabitants of a mammalian metropolis. Zootopia premiered at the Brussels Animation Film Festival in Belgium on February 13, 2016, and went into general theatrical release in conventional 2D, Disney Digital 3-D, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D formats in the United States on March 4. Critics praised its screenplay, animation, voice acting, and subject matter. It opened to record-breaking box offices in several countries, and earned a worldwide gross of over $1 billion, making it the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2016, the 34th-highest-grossing film of all time, the fourth animated film to pass $1 billion in global box-office earnings, and Walt Disney Animation Studios' highest-grossing film since 2013's Frozen. It earned numerous accolades, and received an Academy Award, Golden Globe, Critics' Choice Movie Award, and Annie Award for Best Animated Feature Film, as well as receiving a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film. Plot In a world populated by anthropomorphic animals, Judy Hopps is an idealistic rabbit from Bunnyburrow who fulfills her dream of joining the police force of the mammal metropolis of Zootopia. She passes her difficult training and, ten years later, is introduced to the city as Zootopia Police Department's latest recruit by Mayor Leodore Lionheart and assigned to the ZPD's 1st Precinct. Unfortunately, Judy is relegated by Police Chief Bogo to parking duty. Although she operates zealously to prove herself, she is manipulated and humiliated by Nick Wilde, a small time fox con artist. The next day, Judy impulsively joins the chase of Duke Weaselton, a weasel burglar, which takes her through Little Rodentia where she successfully captures the criminal. However, Captain Bogo reprimands her for overstepping her authority and public endangerment in order to capture a thief with plant bulbs. Furthermore, when a distraught Mrs. Otterton pleads for help finding her husband, one of many recent disappearances in the city, Judy's impulsively insubordinate offer to help her nearly gets her terminated by Bogo except for the timely support of Mayor Lionheart. Agreeing that she would resign if she does not solve the case within 48 hours, Judy tracks down her only lead, Nick, and forces him to help lest he be charged with tax evasion. Nick sullenly assists her while passively resisting to frustratingly prolong the investigation. However, Judy is able to manipulate him to investigate an enclosed compound with probable cause. However, the needed vehicle they find is the property of the crime boss Mr. Big and his polar bear enforcers promptly capture them while they are in Tundratown. Judy and Nick are nearly killed for trespassing, but are saved by Mr. Big's daughter Fru Fru who was rescued earlier by Judy during the chase of Duke. Mr. Big explains that Mr. Otterton is his florist who urgently requested to speak with him. However, when his chauffeur Manchas went to deliver him, Mr. Otterton apparently went savage en route (His personality reverted to the basic non-sapient animal instincts of his species). At that incident, Mr. Otterton went missing and Manchas was traumatized. Judy and Nick go to interview Manchas at his home, but the only information they get is the term "Night Howlers", before Manchas turns savage. Pursued by the panther, the pair are barely able to handcuff him and escape being killed in the incident. Unfortunately, when ZPD backup arrives, Manchas is nowhere to be found. Chief Bogo orders Judy to surrender her badge for this apparent false alarm, but Nick successfully stands up to him with the observation that Judy still has 10 hours remaining to solve the case in a wager that was unreasonable to impose in the first place. Accepting Judy's thanks, Nick explains he recognized her situation from his own troubled youth where he was mercilessly bullied for being a fox by prey animals and resolved to live out the stereotype as defiance. Nick realizes that the city's traffic camera system may have captured how Manchas disappeared, and the pair consults Assistant Mayor Dawn Bellwether. They then discover that Manchas was captured by wolves, which Judy assumes is what Otterton had meant by "night howlers". Judy and Nick locate Cliffside Asylum, where the wolves have detained the missing predators (including Mr. Otterton), all of which have gone savage, and eavesdrop on Mayor Lionheart consulting with a doctor about their condition, revealing that he is keeping the savage predators hidden from both the public and the ZPD, and that the cause their strange behavior is unknown. The pair escape, inform Bogo and the police swarm the area, arresting Lionheart and those involved. Bellwether subsequently becomes the new mayor. Having developed a friendship with Nick throughout the case, Judy requests that he joins the ZPD and become her partner, which Nick happily considers. However, during a press conference, a pressured Judy describes the savaged predators' condition as them reverting to their natural instincts. This seemingly confirms Judy's bigotry against foxes to Nick, who angrily walks out on her offer. When fear and discrimination against predators spreads across Zootopia, a guilt-ridden Judy resigns. During this time, singer Gazelle holds a peaceful protest and publicly asks for the harmonious Zootopia she loves to be restored. Two to three months later, Judy has returned to Bunnyburrow and rejoined the family business as a carrot farmer. However, she later learns from her parents and reformed childhood bully, fox Gideon Grey, that "night howlers" are toxic flowers that have severe psychotropic effects on mammals. Realizing that the flowers are what Otterton was referring to and that they must be the cause of the outbreaks, Judy returns to Zootopia, where she reconciles with Nick. They then locate Weaselton, who explains that he has been collecting night howlers for a ram named Doug Ramses, who owns a lab hidden in the subway tunnels. The pair finds the lab and discovers Doug creating a night howler serum which he has been exposing to predators via paintball-like pellets fired by an air-powered sniper gun. Judy and Nick hijack the lab (which is on a still functional train) and race to the ZPD with the evidence but are pursued by Doug's henchrams, whom they barely manage to defeat. The train is destroyed in the process, but Nick manages to save a case containing Doug's sniper gun and the serum pellet. Just short of the ZPD, the pair encounters Bellwether who insists she takes the evidence. Realizing she is the mastermind of the conspiracy, Judy and Nick try to flee but are knocked into a pit by her henchrams. Bellwether shoots a serum pellet from the evidence case at Nick and frames a call for help to the ZPD. Nick seemingly becomes savage and corners Judy, but it turns out the pair was acting in order to trick Bellwether into openly admitting her prey-supremacist scheme to take over Zootopia and rid it of all predators, and that they replaced the dart gun ammo with blueberries from the Hopps' farm. With Bellwether's monologue recorded on Judy's carrot pen just as Bellwether made her short-lived threat to frame them like she did with Lionheart, Chief Bogo and the ZPD arrive and arrest her and her henchrams upon hearing everything. Upon being informed and interviewed on the matter, Lionheart denies any knowledge of Bellwether's plot, but admits to have illegally imprisoned the savage predators, claiming it to have been done for the "right reasons". Later, Judy is reinstated into the ZPD. An antidote is discovered for the effects of the night howlers and all the infected predators, including Mr. Otterton and Mr. Manchas, are cured. Months later (about a year after Judy started her job at the ZPD), Nick joins the ZPD as the first fox officer and Judy's partner. The final scene has almost all of Zootopia attending Gazelle's concert while Bellwether angrily views it on a television in prison. Voice cast Production Writing Pre-production Animation Casting Soundtrack Track listing Release Release and alternative titles Marketing Home media Reception Box office United States and Canada Other countries Critical response Accolades Trivia * This is only the 18th non-musical film (without counting the Looney Tunes Presents films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and Big Hero 6) in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, following One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Rescuers, The Fox and the Hound, The Sceret of NIMH, The Black Cauldron, The Great Mouse Detective, The Land Before Time, Stuart Little, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Stuart Little 2, Lilo and Stitch, Brother Bear, Home on the Range, Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, Bolt, Wreck-It Ralph and The LEGO Movie. In addition, it's also the highest-grossing non-musical computer animated film made by Walt Disney Animation Studios. * This is the tenth film to have no onscreen humans following Bambi, The Wind in the Willows, Robin Hood, The Land Before Time, The Prince and the Pauper, The Lion King, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and The Berenstain Bears. * Zootopia is rather unique among the films in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, as it is a buddy cop film and deals with real-life situations and reflects on racism and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's. * Director Byron Howard wanted to create Zootopia as an homage to Robin Hood (which he has always considered his childhood favorite Disney film) with modern CG technology. * Producer Clark Spencer was inspired by The Jungle Book to produce Zootopia. * Throughout Zootopia, there are numerous animal parodies of real-life companies and popular culture names: ** Lululemmings - Lululemon ** Just Zoo It - Just Do It, Nike's famous slogan. ** Preyda - Prada ** Vanity Fur - Vanity Fair ** Bearberry - Burberry ** DNKY - DKNY ** Snarlbucks - Starbucks ** Zoogle - Google ** Targoat - Target ** Some smartphones feature a logo that looks like the Apple Inc. logo, though here, it has the shape of a carrot instead a parody of Apple Inc. smartphones called iPhones. There are also devices resembling iPad tablets but with a paw print logo and the name "iPaw". ** ZNN - CNN ** Mousy's - Macy's ** Lucky Chomps - Lucky Charms, a popular cereal. ** MuzzleTime - FaceTime, Apple's video chat service. ** Trader Doe's - Trader Joe's ** Hoof Locker - Foot Locker ** Molex - Rolex (Incidentally, Molex is the name of an actual company, a major industrial electronics manufacturer.) ** PB&J - AT&T ** Lemming Brothers Bank - Lehman Brothers ** ITREEA - IKEA ** ZUBER - UBER ** Catsio - Casio, a company that produces calculators, keyboards, and watches. * Out of all Walt Disney Animated Classics films, this one has the most references and parodies. * In the preview clip of the Little Rodentia chase scene, the "Mousy's" name does not appear on the store front, though Targoat does appear on Fru Fru's bag. * This is the third time where Jason Bateman and Alan Tudyk co-starred together. The first was in DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story and the second was in Arrested Development. * This is the third time where Jason Bateman and J.K. Simmons co-starred in a film together, the first was in Juno and the second was in Up in the Air. ** This is also the second 2016 animated movie Simmons has appeared in. He also appeared in Dreamworks Animation's Kung Fu Panda 3 as the main antagonist, Kai. * Alan Tudyk, Jenny Slate, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche, and Nate Torrence have also co-starred in Star vs. the Forces of Evil. * Zootopia is the first Walt Disney Animation Studios film to have its background music score be composed by Michael Giacchino and also the second film score from that studio to be composed by a recurring Pixar composer; the first was 2009's The Princess and the Frog, where its score and songs were composed by Randy Newman. * Along with Trolls and Moana, this is the first time since 2003 that Walt Disney Animation Studios releases three animated features in the same year. * This is Disney's third computer-animated film to be released in IMAX 3D theaters; the first being Tangled, though the first to be released in domestic IMAX theaters. * The character Peter Moosebridge's portrayal differs based on each region's version of the film. While Moosebridge remains in the Canadian, American, and British (where he was renamed Moosos Alexander and voiced by BBC sports reporter, Veesos Alexander, though the UK home release used his US name and voice) versions, he is replaced by a jaguar called Boi Chai in the Brazilian version (voiced by Rede Bandeirantes news anchor Ricardo Boechat), a tanuki in the Japanese version, a koala in the Australian and New Zealand versions and a panda in the Chinese version. * On Judy's music player (that closely resembles a 6th generation iPod Nano), several Disney songs are parodied, including "Let It Go" (Let It Goat) from Frozen, "Part of Your World" (Part of Your Wool) from The Little Mermaid, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (Can You Feel the Fluff Tonight) from The Lion King, "Somewhere Out There" (Somewhere Zoo There) from An American Tale and "Arabian Nights" (Ara-bunny Nights) from Aladdin. As well, several famous artist and band names are parodied, including Fleetwood Mac (Fleetwood Yak), Foo Fighters (Fur Fighters), Guns N' Roses (Guns N' Rodents), Selena Gomez (Hyena Gomez), Kanye West (Kanine West), and Mick Jagger (Mick Jaguar). * At one point in the movie, just before she gets on the train for Zootopia, Judy's parents are reminding her of all the animals she has to fear, Judy quotes FDR's famous statement "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." * This is the first Walt Disney Animation Studios film not to be accompanied by a short film since 2010's Tangled. * With a running time of 108 minutes, Zootopia is (to date) the fourth longest Disney animated film, after Fantasia at 124 minutes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at TBD minutes and An American Tale at TBD minutes. Since Fantasia is a compilation of shorts, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, An American Tale and Zootopia are the three longest Disney animated films. * Because the movie and titular city were renamed "Zootropolis" for its release in the UK and Ireland, an ADR group re-recorded the original cast's lines to accommodate the change, matching the original voices perfectly. Despite this, the characters' lips still mouth "Zootopia" when they say "Zootropolis." * The only animals that were purposefully cut from the film were the primates, as the filmmakers felt that the animals looked too human-like when they walked on two legs, especially great apes. Bats were also cut from the film because they would've been the only flying animals in the world of Zootopia and because they were too small to wear clothing and look publicly suitable. However, a figurine of a bat eyewitness was released alongside with a figure of Clawhauser, ironically enough. * During story development, there were other districts in the city of Zootopia that were developed but not used in the film. These include Outback Island, the Meadowlands, the Nocturnal District, the Burrows, the Canals, and Happytown. The Burrows may have been a precursor of Bunnyburrow (an area outside of Zootopia), and Happytown (which was actually a slummy district) seems particularly geared toward the darker, more dystopian, and mean-spirited versions of the story that were later abandoned. ** The missing mammals chart at the police station shows the names of several districts not otherwise seen in the film, including Canyonlands, Meadowlands, Canal District, Marshlands, and a body of water labeled Polar Strait. * Many of the events in the movie reflect events that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s: ** Gazelle's protest to return Zootopia to its ordinary state reflects the various nonviolent protests that occurred throughout this era. ** The prejudice that Chief Bogo had against smaller and 'weaker' prey mammals (until Judy Hopps' triumph for the ZPD) is similar to the racism against African-Americans and all minorities during this era. ** At the beginning of the film, during Nick's Ice Cream parlor scene, Jerry Jumbeaux Jr. states that his establishment has the right to "...refuse service to anyone." "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone" was commonly found in public areas such as restaurants during this era. * At one point, Chief Bogo references "Let It Go" from Frozen. This was not only an obvious reference to the aforementioned film, but also a nod to Frozen's co-director Jennifer Lee, who served as a co-writer for Zootopia. * This is the first of three Disney movies released in 2016 to feature the voice of Idris Elba. He later played Shere Khan in The Jungle Book and Fluke in Finding Dory. * Finnick's van plate, which reads HB051986 is a reference to actor Herschel Bernardi, who died in May 1986. * The calendars throughout the movie suggest the film's events took place during the month of May. * The word "Zootopia" is spoken 23 times during the film. * Outside of Jumbeaux's Cafe (where Judy bought the Jumbo Pop for Nick and Finnick), next door, there is a theater that is showing Star Trunk, a reference to Star Trek. * This is the first Walt Disney Animation Studios film to use God's name in vain and also Disney's second animated film to do so after Pixar's The Incredibles. * The last Walt Disney Animation Studios film to feature the short 2011 Disney closing logo. Cameos * On the theatrical release poster for Zootopia, standing behind Yax is a zebra whose son appears to be holding a stuffed Mickey Mouse doll. A Mickey Mouse doll can also be spotted in a stroller being pushed by a hippo in the scene where Nick is driving Finnick in a pram. * In Tundratown, two little elephant girls are dressed like Elsa and Anna from Frozen. * The flower emblem on the two plates in Jumbeaux's Café comes from a decoration on Anna's bed from Frozen. * On Finnick's van is an antenna ball that resembles Baymax from Big Hero 6. ** Also, on the back of the van, the magical fish hook belonging to the character Maui from Moana can be seen. * In Little Rodentia, right next to Mousy's is a building called Lucky Cat Café, a reference to the Hamada residence in Big Hero 6. ** In the same area, there is a building called Hans' Pastry Shop, alluding to Hans from Frozen. * The picture on Chief Bogo's calendar in his office is the skyline of San Fransokyo from Big Hero 6. * Pascal from Tangled appears as a silhouette on a medal in Chief Bogo's office. * Genie's Lamp is sitting on a shelf in the Mystic Springs Oasis' reception office. * The bears scratching their backs against the trees in the naturist club resembles what Baloo was doing during "The Bare Necessities" from The Jungle Book. * In one scene, Duke Weaselton is seen selling bootlegged films, all of which are animal variants of eleven of Walt Disney Animation Studios' previous films, two of Pixar's films (one previous and other then-upcoming) and three of Walt Disney Animation Studios' upcoming films. Those include: ** Wrangled - Tangled ** Wreck-It Rhino - Wreck-It Ralph ** TBD - The Land Before Time ** Meowana - Moana ** TBD - Thumbelina ** Giraffic - Gigantic ** An American Tail - An American Tale (possibly referring the fact the aforementioned film was supposed to setting in a all-animal world like Zootopia does) ** Robin Hood ** The Prince and the Pauper ** TBD - Anastasia ** Chicken Little ** The Wind in the Willows ** Mice - Trolls ** The Incredidogs - The Incredibles ** TBD - Coco ** Since they were already with only animals, The Land Before Time, Robin Hood, The Prince and the Pauper, Chicken Little and The Wind in the Willows remain as they are in real life. * Oswald the Lucky Rabbit appears as graffiti on the side of Doug's laboratory/subway car. * The deer mannequin Nick shreds apart in the film's climax bears resemblance to Bambi. * In a deleted scene, Robert Callaghan's kabuki mask from Big Hero 6 is visible in Officer Bob's office.